International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391 The Biography of Shakespeare Reflected in His Play Hamlet

Dr. Abdalatif Mamoun Hassan1, Dr. Muhannad Rushdi Nimer Sabha2

1El-Imam El-Mahadi University - Faculty of Arts and Majmaah University, Department of English Language-College of Sciences and Humanities Ghat 2Majmaah University, Department of English Language-College of Sciences and Humanities Ghat

Abstract: In his literary work, William Shakespeare covered various topics addressing the social and political aspects of the British community. He shed considerable light on many issues about human social life. He is widely recognized as the father of the English literature for his dramatic views and stances against the government; as he spent his entire life seeking people’s rights whether verbally or written. William Shakespeare uniquely enriched the English literature with his masterpiece writings. Moreover, his works, particularly plays, still entertain his audience greatly due to the symbolic messages embedded into the plots and scenarios. For example, Hamlet is one of his state-of-art tragic plays in which various social themes are portrayed such as marriage and revenge. He also intended to deliver a special message to the readers of that time through the play characters. Furthermore, he expressed his views of fighting societal traditions and customs that do not meet today’s norms. For example, the murder of king Hamlet represents typical treachery. The playwright was very creative in writing interesting plays. One of the scenes that often attract the readers is when Hamlet asks the children players to perform the same scene of his father's murder because he wants to see the reaction of his uncle Claudius. Hamlet seeks to take the revenge of his father's death, and regain the hands lost to Denmark. This situation accounts for the sense of a troposphere at the start of the play.

Keywords: Biography Reflected Work Revenge Tragedy Murder Rage Hamlet

1. Definition of Terms the Holy Trinity Church. At age 18, he married Anne Hathaway from whom he had three children. He died in his Biography: The story of a person's life written by someone home town of Stratford on 23 April 1616 aged 52. Although else. much is known about Shakespeare's life than those of other Elizabethan and Jacobean writers, few personal biographical Reflected: to send back light heat or sound. facts remain partially revealed, which is unsurprising in the light of his social status as a commoner, the low esteem in Work: something that requires physical or mental efforts. which his profession was held, and the general lack of interest of the time in the personal lives of writers (1). Revenge: something that you do to punish someone who hurts you. Literature is perceived as a reflection of real-life situations, regardless of the genre used in the concerned literary work. Tragedy: an event or situation that causes great sadness. Among key literary genres is drama, which mirrors real-life situations, yet performed in a theatre by different role- Murder: the crime of purposefully killing a person illegally. players who represent real human characters. In other words, Rage: great anger. the audience is likely to watch real-scenarios and incidents that they may have experienced before. Anthony Burgess points out that “Drama is the most natural of the arts, being 2. Introduction based on one of the most fundamental of the human and animals' faculties, the faculty of imitation it is through William Shakespeare is widely recognized as the father of imitation that animals learn to fight, climb, hunt. It is English Literature Bate, 2008).His work cannot whatsoever through imitation that children learn to talk to perform great be comparable with any other literary work in terms of number complicated human functions. This imitative quantity and quality. Therefore, he never had and will never faculty, or as we call it memetic faculty, makes us all actors have a rival all over the world. Moreover, throughout the almost from the cradle” (English Literature, p. 44). English; and perhaps any other culture, literature, no one has written thirty-five plays except William Shakespeare. Hamlet Nevertheless, many critics have expressed great wonderment why William Shakespeare never wrote novels, arguing that Prince Hamlet is a university student who enjoys it is seldom to have a seasoned play-writer who has zero contemplating difficult philosophical questions. When his novel production. Nonetheless, his great literary heritage father, King of Denmark, is killed, he returns home to find still makes him one of a kind. evidence of a fool play in his father‟s death. The Ghost of Hamlet (the murdered king) tells Prince Hamlet that his Shakespeare was an actor, playwright, poet, and theatre uncle Claudius is the murderer. Throughout the rest of the entrepreneur in London during late Elizabethan and play, Hamlet seeks to prove Claudius‟ guilt before he takes early Jacobean eras. He was baptized on 26 April action against him. However, Hamlet is pensive and extreme 1564in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England, in at times even brooding. He constantly overuses his intellect Volume 7 Issue 3, March 2018 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Paper ID: ART20181026 DOI: 10.21275/ART20181026 1431 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391 while ignoring his emotions and what "feels right." His Biography of Shakespeare reflected in his play Hamlet extreme logic causes him to delay his revenge against Claudius until the final scene of the play takes place when In reality, Shakespeare was an actor and a playwright. This he kills Claudius and proves that he has progressed into a was reflected in the play (Hamlet). Hamlet wanted to make truly existential character (p. 2). sure that Claudius indeed killed his father. He composed a scene of a play, which portrayed Claudius killing his Shakespeare's life brother). Hehad children perform the play while he was watching Claudius‟ reactions to the scene. This was a Shakespeare was born on 26 April 1564 and was baptized on reflection of Shakespeare‟s own life. Holy Trinity Church, 23 April 1616. He was an English poet, playwright, and where Shakespeare was baptized, was reflected in Hamlet actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the too. After the death of Ophelia, the clergyman refused to English language and the world pre-eminent dramatist. He is bury Ophelia in the church because she had committed a often called England national poet and the "Bard of Avon." suicide. Shakespeare's father was prosperous at the time of His extant works, including collaborations, consist of almost William's birth, thus, both Shakespeare and Hamlet live in a 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few luxurious life. Furthermore, on November 28th 1582 at other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays were Temple Grafton near Stratford, the 18-year-old Shakespeare translated into every major living language and are still married the 26-year-old Anne Hathaway. Two neighbors of performed more often than those of any other playwright. Hathaway, Fulk Sandalls and John Richardson, posted bond William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an ensuring that no legal impediments existed to the union. The alderman and a successful glover originally from ceremony may have been arranged in some haste. Six Snitterfield, and Mary Arden, the daughter of an affluent months later, their first daughter, Susanna, was born on 26 landowning farmer. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon May 1583. and was baptized there on 26 April 1564. His actual date of birth remains unknown, yet it is traditionally observed on 23 Based on the above mentioned, there was a great similarity April, Saint George's Day. This date, which can be traced between the haste of Shakespeare real marriage and and that back to an 18th-century scholar's mistake, has proved of Gertrude (Hamlet‟s mother) .This was a real reflection of appealing to biographers because he died on 23 April 1616. Shakespeare‟s biography which was depicted on Hamlet. He was the third child of eight and the eldest surviving son. The name Hamlet was taken from the medieval story of Amelth. The letter of the name was back warded to form 3. Background about the play Hamlet. Thus, he reflected his son‟s name on the title of the play. Throughout his career, Shakespeare spent his time The play was written during the Elizabethan area. The plot between London and Stratford. Hamlet's life was also spent was taken from a Latin legend. However, Shakespeare between France and Denmark. This was a mirror of adapted the plot to suit the Elizabethan audiences. It was a Shakespeare life in Hamlet. revenge tragedy which was preferable at that time. Shakespeare enrich the Elizabethan Theater in particular and There was no concrete document proving that Shakespeare the British Literature in general. did not attend college, the same thing for Hamlet who did not complete his college studies. Shakespeare‟s life was Most of the characters‟ names are barrowed (Hamlet was dominated by grief for the loss of his son. Similarly, derived from the Medieval story – Amleth – by moving the Hamlet‟s life was full of sorrow for the murder of his father. last letter to the front to become Hamlet).Claudius‟ name Therefore, this was a clear reflection of the two lives on the comes from the Roman history, Gertrude, which was also literary work. What distinguishes Shakespeare‟s role in this borrowed from German Language. play is that he played the role of Hamlet‟s father in a form of a ghost. The play revolves around Hamlet who decides to take revenge of his father who was killed by Claudius) and to Moreover, Shakespeare also depicted his wife, Anne, in inherit both the throne and Gertrude (King Hamlet's wife) Hamlet. For example, Schoenbaum (1991) indicates that whom he was in love with her. Therefore, he killed his “Shakespeare's will scarcely mentions his wife, Anne, who brother and married her. Hamlet did not directly take was probably entitled to one-third of his estate revenge for his uncle; rather, he delayed the revenge to automatically” (p. 275). Moreover, Greenblatt (2005) argues ensure that Claudius indeed killed his father. that Shakespeare“ did make a point, however, of leaving her „my second best bed‟, a bequest that has led to much The ghost of his father told him the entire story in detail, but speculation.” (pp. 145–46). In the same vein, Schoenbaum he is still reluctant. Therefore, he decided to compose a play (1987) noted that “some scholars see the bequest as an insult in which one of its scene emulates what exactly happened to to Anne, whereas others believe that the second-best bed his father. He wants to see the reaction of his uncle who was would have been the matrimonial bed and therefore rich in very uncomfortable watching the scene. More specifically, significance.”(pp. 301–303). Thus, one may conclude that the scene when his uncle was on his knees asking God for Shakespeare left his wife – Anne – in the same form that forgiveness made he ask himself if he indeed killed him. Hamlet did to his sweetheart Ophelia. Therefore, he delayed taking the revenge until he found him committing the sin. Eventually, he killed his consultant Furthermore, Ringler (1997) points out that “the actors in thinking that he was Claudius. Shakespeare's company included the famous Richard Burbage, William Kempe, Henry Condell and John Volume 7 Issue 3, March 2018 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Paper ID: ART20181026 DOI: 10.21275/ART20181026 1432 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391 Heminges. Burbage played the leading role in the first performances of many of Shakespeare's plays, including Richard III, Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear.” (p., 127).

Therefore, Hamlet also has children players. He once asked one them to kill his brother by poisoning his ear. Ironically, the same thing is depicted in the scene when his uncle Claudius kill hamlet‟s father. This suggests that some of the play scenes indeed reflect Shakespeare‟ real-life situations.

4. Conclusion

In this paper, we attempt to reflect the biography of Shakespeare on one of his most prominent tragedies (Hamlet). We will support our critical analysis with some famous quotes from literature in order to shed some light on the views of the critics. First , Bradley (1991) points out that “many critics believe that Shakespeare's greatest tragedies represent the peak of his art. The titular hero of one of Shakespeare‟s most famous tragedies, Hamlet, has probably been discussed more than any other Shakespearean character, especially for his famous soliloquy which begins „To be or not to be; that is the question‟.” (p., 86). Bradley (1991) continues his remarks indicating that “unlike the introverted Hamlet, whose fatal flaw is hesitation, the heroes of the tragedies that followed, Othello and King Lear, are undone by hasty errors of judgment.” (86). Furthermore, Dowden (1881) argues that “some commentators have seen this change in mood as evidence of a more serene view of life on Shakespeare's part, but it may merely reflect the theatrical fashion of the day.” (p., 60). This again suggests that there is substantial analogy between Shakespeare and Hamlet, which is the essence of this paper.

References

[1] Ackroyd, P. (2006). Shakespeare: The Biography, London: Vintage ISBN 978-0-7493-86559. [2] Bate, J. (2008). The genius of Shakespeare. Pan Macmillan. [3] Bradley, A.C. (1991). Shakespearean Tragedy Hamondsworth: Pengum. [4] Charles Knight, 1842, in his notes on Twelfth Night, as cited in Schoenbaum 1991, 275. [5] Greenblatt, S. (2010). Will in the world: How Shakespeare became Shakespeare. WW Norton & Company. [6] Dowden, E. (1881). The Sonnets of William Shakespeare. Edited by E. Dowden. Kegan Paul & Company. [7] Honan, P. (1998). Shakespeare: a life. OUP Oxford. [8] Schoenbaum, S. (1987). William Shakespeare: a compact documentary life. Oxford University Press, USA..

Volume 7 Issue 3, March 2018 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Paper ID: ART20181026 DOI: 10.21275/ART20181026 1433